Winterizing
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So clever are these furry squirrels
Tails twitch, swirl, gathering food
So rude, around branches they twirl
Hurling leaves, nuts from altitude
Barking with attitude, spunky
Chunky things, feeder invaders
Compost raiders, birdseed junkies
Charm school flunkies, hawk evaders.
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Glistening droplets
Shine atop a fuzzy leaf
Fleeting reflections
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(A Haiku)
Everyday I’m Shufflin’
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Did anyone notice the line
In the leaves as they shuffled through
Amazed at what water can do
As it cascades from the roofline
Nature’s artwork so sublime
Only for temporary view
Until new weather does ensue
A new masterpiece reflects time
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(A Brace Octave)
Psithurism
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They say this word is obsolete
But I don’t know how that can be
When it creates a thought complete
About the woods surrounding me
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(A Redondilla Poem)
(A Spanish Quatrain)
Fig
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Sticky fig needs a wasp to fruit
Otherwise it’s all leaves and root
This fact the squeamish may dispute
Tiny wasp pollinates
Leaves eggs and wings along her route
In fig’s sweet flesh, tastes great.
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(A Burns Stanza or Standard Habbie)
Happiness Is
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Happiness is a sunny beach
Far from the summer’s white hot reach
Happiness is a muddy trail
With only boulders for guardrail
Tell me what’s wrong with gray skies
Nature’s all lovely in my eyes
*
Happiness is a rainy day
Liquid music tapping away
Happiness is the thundersnow
Ominous green skies all aglow
What’s wrong with an obscured sunrise
Nature’s all lovely in my eyes
*
Happiness is limbs dark and stark
Admiring the subtle bark
Happy is getting to explore
With the loving man I adore
Luckily I’ve come to realize
Nature’s all lovely in our eyes.
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Where water meets rock
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Resting beside rocks and water thought digesting
Digesting today’s news, aching muscles resting
Peace comes to me where the cold creek waters release
Release all stresses into the burbling peace
Seeking calm but getting a perspective tweaking
Tweaking expectations, transformation seeking
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(A Mirrored Sestet)
Katydid
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Nice try katydid but you are no leaf
Stick in cold pause in the October dawn
In slow motion until the cool is gone
Soaking in the sun’s rays for some relief
Up in the boughs you may never be seen
Down on the bark you’re the only thing green
This time of year the cool morning is brief
As sun steals the chill like a sly thief
You’re a target here now so green on the bark
Sure you were safe but it’s no longer dark
As the day brightens it’s nature’s belief
It’s time to conclude your chirps and your trills
Ending the night of adventures and thrills
‘Til dark katydid, go hide on a leaf
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Better Prepare
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Red and golden leaves clatter to the ground
There’s a crisp clear freshness in the air
Acorns and black walnuts drop all around
Winter is coming! We have to prepare!
*
Gray squirrels sprint without a minute to spare
Tan sycamore fluff falls without sound
Migrating birds have stripped fruiting plants bare
How quickly the seasons change does astound
*
Winter food buried in earthen mounds
Tree nuts planted in every open square
Wildlife shows us sustenance abounds
Winter is coming! We have to prepare!
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(A Quandrel Poem)
The Pokeweed
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Birds denude
Dark purple fruit for food
Around here they call it inkberry
*
Derided by many as unnecessary
Removal from the landscape is customary
Diligent birds replant it by seed
*
Can be messy indeed
The Pokeweed
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A Picture and a Poem 